Boulder wants to hear ideas from the public on how to improve the city's civic center -- the area from Ninth to 17th streets, between Canyon Boulevard and Arapahoe Avenue.

"At this point, we just want to hear from the community, what does this place mean to you?" said city spokesman Michael Banuelos. "What kinds of uses could make this place better, and how could we accomplish that?"

City leaders have said creating a plan to re-imagine the city center and guide development there for years to come is a top priority. They want to keep the elements that define the area -- such as the open parks, the Farmer's Market and the Boulder Main Public Library -- though they may be reconfigured.

They also want to hear new ideas. Some of the suggestions have included encouraging more retail stores and cafes on Canyon Boulevard and putting a performing arts center or science museum in the area.

The city launched a website this week that will provide information and updates on the planning process. People who are interested in the project can sign up to receive email updates, check the calendar of community events and provide feedback at BoulderCivicArea.com.

The website also hosts a video on the historic development of the area. Boulder historian and author Silvia Pettem describes the area's transformation from the city's industrial hub in the early part of the last century to open parkland by the 1930s. Railroad tracks ran along what is today Canyon Boulevard, and there was a red-light district between what is now the municipal building and the library, she said.

"That's an interesting part of history," Banuelos said. "You get to imagine how things were a different way. That's what we want to do at the forefront of this project."

The planning process will launch with an open house for the public and all the relevant city boards and commissions -- parks, water resources, landmarks, downtown management, planning -- on July 11 at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art.

Throughout the summer, there will be community outreach events at the Farmer's Market, at Noon Tunes on the Pearl Street Mall, at the library and at other popular events. The City Council will also take up the civic area plan at a study session in late July, and other boards and commissions will receive presentations on portions of the plan that are relevant to their mission, whether it's mitigating flood risk or maintaining historic landmarks.

Then in September, the city will hold an ideas collaboration workshop and launch an online collaboration via MindMixer, which allows people to submit ideas, vote and comment on them.

Those ideas will then be shaped into a plan that will guide the area's development.

"It's a great way to bring ideas to the top, and it's a way to augment the traditional outreach that we're doing," Banuelos said. "With a community as connected as ours, it just makes sense to go online."